Gareth A Davies has been a sports journalist for The Daily Telegraph since 1993. He is Boxing and MMA Correspondent. Has been intrigued by fight and combat sports from a young age. Personal sporting passions are rugby, cricket, and martial arts. Also covers the Paralympic Games. Hates getting his hair cut. Follow on Twitter @GarethADaviesDT

Freddie Roach opens up on Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan and rails at Alexander Bradley and Katsidis

Hollywood trainer Freddie Roach launched a stinging attack on Devon Alexander, claimed Michael Katsidis has requested over-the-odds money to fight Amir Khan in the UK, and said Khan needs to be back in the Wild Card Boxing Club this week if he is to prepare correctly for his July 31 contest.

Roach said he is also ready to train Manny Pacquiao for whoever he fights next.

“Amir will back in the gym soon. He has to be. He fought a great fight in New York against Paulie Malignaggi. He fought the right fight,” Roach told Telegraph Sport. “If he does take the fight on July 31, he needs to get back over here and get in the gym this week. I hear they were talking to [Michael] Katsidis but he wanted too much money. My view is that Amir is ready for anyone right now.”

There has been a counter argument in recent days from Brendon Smith, Katsidis’s manager, claiming Khan is refusing to fight him, with Joel Casamayor, the 38-year-old Cuban veteran slated to meet the British tyro, although that is yet to be confirmed officially. Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy who is in the UK this week, is likely to confirm the details on Wednesday evening.

Khan made an impact on the US writers and television executives in his fight with Malignaggi. It was clear cut. “They had only heard about him and had not really seen him since the amateur days at the Olympics. Look, he’s an exciting fighter, he exchanges with people, and the tv guys love that…”

Roach also turned his rapier attention two of Khan’s greatest rivals in the 150lb division. “Who is Devon Alexander anyway ? We’ve seen him on tv, I’ve seen him once and I didn’t see anything special. The other guy – [Timothy] Bradley – one of my young boxers Jose Benavidez [aged 18] sparred with him and had no trouble and he struggled in a recent fight, but looked good in his last fight.”

“Marcos Maidana [who was the mandatory challenger to Khan’s WBA light-welterweight title] we can take on any day of the week. Go and build these other guys up some we can make these into bog fights. Bradley is fighting Andreas Kotelnik next, why is he fighting him ? The real issue here is that the 140lb champions are not ready to fight each other because no one is making serious offers.”

On Manny Pacquiao, Roach told Telegraph Sport: “I’m hoping the fight with Floyd Mayweather happens – like everyone else. The saga has gone on for so long, my strategy now is just to think that whoever he fights, I’ll get him ready for it. Of course, I’d love him to fight Mayweather, but sometimes for whatever reason, these fight don’t happen. Let’s hope the promoters can meet in the middle.”

Matthew Macklin – the Irish middleweight based in England and another British fighter training with Roach – is still looking for his next opponent. “I haven’t seen Matthew since Amir’s fight in New York. He hasn’t come out to start training yet. He was looking to get a fight with Winky Wright, and then looked at Sergio Mora, so hopefully it will work out. Matthew’s a great kid and could go a long way in America.”